Article

Astros defend Osuna trade, activation

6 August 2018 05:59

The Houston Astros activated Roberto Osuna from the restricted list following his 75-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic abuse policy and the reigning World Series champions defending their decision.

Houston acquired the beleaguered All-Star reliever from the Toronto Blue Jays before the July 31 trade deadline, but the move came with a fair amount of controversy because Osuna is still dealing with ongoing legal proceedings regarding charges filed against him.

Osuna was placed on administrative leave on May 8 after he was arrested by Toronto police on suspicion of assaulting a woman. He plead not guilty to the assault charge.

The 23-year-old pitcher is expected to become the Astros' closer, and the Astros released a statement defending their decision prior to Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The statement read: "On August 4th, Roberto Osuna wilfully and successfully completed his MLB domestic violence program requirements. Because of the ongoing legal proceedings, very little can be said about the incident itself or the case involving Roberto.

"Our decision to acquire Roberto was based on the entirety of information that we gathered during our extensive evaluation. That included as much information as we could gather about the specific incident and the charges that were filed but it also included as much information as we could gather about his actions before and after the incident, as well as his personal reputation among his former teammates and coaches. The information regarding this specific incident weighed heavily on our decision but when evaluating the entirety of the information, we felt that Roberto deserved a second chance.

"We are now focused on ensuring that Roberto makes a positive impact off the field while he is a member of the Houston Astros. We are providing Roberto with the benefit of a great clubhouse and organisation as a supportive environment for this fresh start. We welcome being held accountable for all of our personnel decisions. Time will tell which ones were right and wrong. We believe that Roberto will not let us down. If there is any type of issue in the future, we will take immediate and decisive action – it will not be tolerated.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for our organisation. We understood that it would cause significant debate. We are strong believers in protecting the rights of victims and remain committed to having a positive impact on our community. We will use this decision to significantly increase our support, raise awareness, and influence change regarding the issues of domestic violence and abuse of any kind. We have engaged with Houston Area Women's Center, Texas Council on Family Violence, and National Network to End Domestic Violence and look forward to working with them. We passionately maintain our commitment to our fans and the city of Houston. We have always been and will continue to be strong corporate citizens for our community."